Scenes from Christmas

Our Christmas 2008 was a fun one - for 2 obvious reasons!! But it was even more enjoyable when compared to last year. For just a minute, we'll wander down memory lane to Christmas 2007. We were awaiting the arrival of our little bundles of joy, but not quite ready to meet them when I was struck by the dreaded stomach flu on Christmas Eve Eve (12/23). Now any of you who have had the stomach flu know how hard it is on the stomach muscles, but can you imagine that combined with a 7 month pregnant belly full of 2 babies?? Needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant experience and the dehydration caused the start of contractions that had us a bit worried. I was admitted to Bromenn for hydration and monitoring for 24 hours. Thanks to IV fluids and some anti-contraction medication, things calmed down and I was released to finish recuperating at home. Needless to say, this Christmas was much better with no end of the year hospital visits and 2 very energetic 10 and 1/2 month olds to entertain us with their antics!!

We started out our holiday celebrations with the Leman clan. Good food, time with family, and presents were enjoyed by all! One of the Leman traditions is to spend time singing Christmas carols, and the music is quite beautiful. It's one of my favorite times of the evening, and Brock and Kyle seemed to enjoy it, too. They danced and "sang along" almost the whole time we were singing. So cute to watch!!

Here they are, opening some of their many wonderful presents from their Grandma Leman, aunts, uncles, and cousins. How grateful we are that they love our boys so much!!

Aunt Ruthie and Brock. Isn't he handsome with that Santa hat??

Daddy and his boys.

Madison and Kyle. "Do I have to have a turn with this hat??" Kyle is definitely not our hat boy. He's much better at taking them off than he is at leaving them on!!

Christmas Eve found us at Grandma and Grandpa Martin's celebrating with Arlys, Arlene, and the Iowa Uncles. Again, good food, time with family, and more presents made for another enjoyable evening!!

Brock was in awe of the Christmas tree. It was much bigger than the little one that we put up on top of our book shelf, but the boys had less time to work on taking it down at Grandma's. She also had it in a room with a door that we could shut to keep the boys from removing and eating all of the tinsel within their reach when we weren't around:).

Brock and Grandma Martin - "I just can't get enough of that tree!! Daddy, can WE get a real Christmas tree next year?!?"

Grandpa and Kyle - opening yet another toy that makes noise!! Playing at our house is no longer a quiet experience, but boy do they love all of the lights and sounds that their new toys make!!

The biggest hit of the evening was a big box that Arlys and Arlene's gift came in.

It was big enough for one to sit in.............................

..................and even 2 if we squeezed real tight. This made for a fun ride around the living room!!

We spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa, and wouldn't you know it, they had more presents for Brock and Kyle on Christmas morning (and a few for us, too:). I think that they had a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas this year!!

Here are Grandma and Grandpa with the boys.

And here's a picture of our little family on Christmas morning. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas season!!